S-3227.1 _______________________________________________ SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8015 _______________________________________________ State of Washington 55th Legislature 1997 Regular Session By Senators Wojahn, Oke, Winsley, Franklin, Rasmussen and Goings Read first time 04/17/97. Referred to Committee on Transportation. 1 TO THE HONORABLE SID MORRISON, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, AND TO 2 THE WASHINGTON STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, AND TO THE WASHINGTON 3 STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND TO THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF 4 TACOMA, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TACOMA CITY COUNCIL, AND TO MR. 5 MURRAY MORGAN: 6 We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of 7 the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully 8 represent and petition as follows: 9 WHEREAS, On February 2, 1916, during a snowstorm that toppled 10 buildings, Murray Morgan was born in the second floor bedroom of a 11 Universalist New Thought minister's house at 3316 North 31st Street in 12 Tacoma; and 13 WHEREAS, Murray Morgan, since his student days at the University of 14 Washington as Editor of the University of Washington Daily, has 15 demonstrated a passion for research and brilliant command of the 16 written and spoken word; and 17 WHEREAS, Over the course of his illustrious career as a journalist, 18 Murray Morgan worked for the august institutions of Time magazine, the 19 Columbia Broadcasting Company, The New York Herald Tribune, the Hoquiam 20 Washingtonian, and the Tacoma News Tribune; and p. 1 SJM 8015 1 WHEREAS, Murray Morgan's penchant for meandering around the Puget 2 Sound region, the Northwest, and the world on a shoestring and at the 3 drop of a hat, and often with his wife of fifty plus years, Rosa, has 4 given rise to his historical tomes on Tacoma, Seattle, the Olympic 5 Peninsula, the Columbia River, Grand Coulee Dam, the St. Paul and 6 Tacoma Lumber Company, the Alaska gold rush, the 1962 Seattle World's 7 Fair, and his most favorite topic, the Aleutian Islands; and 8 WHEREAS, By conveying his many interests and adventures through 9 written and verbal mediums, Murray Morgan has brought the world closer 10 to Tacoma, and Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest closer to the rest of 11 the world; and 12 WHEREAS, Murray Morgan in the early 1950's, while serving as a 13 bridge tender on the Eleventh Street Bridge on State Route No. 509 in 14 Tacoma, Washington, wrote much of his famed Skid Road; 15 NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memoralists respectfully pray that the 16 Washington State Transportation Commission commence proceedings to name 17 the Eleventh Street Bridge on State Route No. 509 "The Murray Morgan 18 Bridge," and that a ceremony to name the bridge take place as soon as 19 is practicable. 20 BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 21 transmitted to the Honorable Sid Morrison, Secretary of Transportation, 22 the Washington State Transportation Commission, the Washington State 23 Department of Transportation, the Mayor of the City of Tacoma, the 24 members of the Tacoma City Council, and to Mr. Murray Morgan. --- END --- SJM 8015 p. 2.